Ecclesiastes

Right now I'm away from home at a work conference in Orillia, near Casino Rama (that piece isn't relevant, but it's interesting). Yesterday morning before all the sessions began and before breakfast (with all the bacon I could eat), I found a comfortable chair in one of the buildings and opened Ecclesiastes.

I must admit, I read Ecclesiastes from the CEV before I started this trek through the Bible. I love this book. I'm not sure why - it might be because the writer seems undecided. Clearly he (I assume it's Solomon) is thinking out loud, letting the reader see through a window to his soul. Here is a man who is loaded ($), famous and wiser than anyone who has lived and he's trying to figure life out. Over and over again he says that when it all comes down, we should enjoy life, enjoy eating and drinking, and work hard. We can't take it with us and when we die - it's over.

I don't think the point of Ecclesiastes is the afterlife. It seems to me the writer was focused on life, not after life. I'm reminded of Bon Jovi's song - "I don't want to live forever, I just want to live while I'm alive." This is keeping with John 10:10, in which Jesus says he wants to let us live life to the full.

There are tonnes of snippets of wisdom spread through this book: it's better to be wise than anything else, enjoy life, keep your promises, don't make promises to quickly, don't forget that our lives are mortal, don't debate too much before acting, it's good for a nation (how about a company?) when the leaders are mature, and so many more.

But then, the writer stops his thinking and ends the book by saying "Respect and obey God. This is what life is all about." I don't think that is meant to negate all the other advice he gave (I used to think that); rather, I think he realized that it underpins all the other advice he gave. First, and and during, respect and obey God in life and while we are alive, be wise about it, and be sure to live.